


The Afternoon Nap

by OccupationStargazer



Category: Prodigal Son (TV 2019)
Genre: Fluffy, Gen, Headaches & Migraines, Hurt/Comfort, Sick Malcolm, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-29
Updated: 2020-04-29
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:55:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23913436
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OccupationStargazer/pseuds/OccupationStargazer
Summary: Gil Arroyo is two sentences into a statement about the precinct's most recent arrest when his office door flies open and then immediately closes as the one, the only (thank god), Malcolm Bright flops down on his couch.
Comments: 6
Kudos: 132





	The Afternoon Nap

Gil Arroyo stretches his arms above his head as he watches the clock on his desktop computer turn from 2:34PM to 2:35. He’s been holed up in his office since ten, when they made the final arrests for the precinct’s latest murder case. They’ve all been pulling late nights for this one, and it feels good that it’s finally over.

However, the downside to finishing any case is the mountain of paperwork that follows. Gil and his team are absolutely swimming in forms, each required to write up an individual statement about the arrest’s proceedings. The work is mind numbing, but Gil’s determined to get everything done by five, so he takes a deep breath and gets back to work.

He’s two sentences into his statement when his office door flies open and then immediately closes as the one, the only (thank god), Malcolm Bright flops down on his couch.

Losing all of his hard earned focus, Gil sits back in his desk chair and surveys the profiler. “By all means, Bright, come in,” he mumbles dryly as he watches Malcolm struggle to take off his suit jacket.

“Sorry,” the kid pants, “I just needed…” Malcolm trails off with a vague gesture. Before Gil can ask any further questions, Bright has stretched out across the length of his office sofa and closed his eyes, pulling his suit jacket over the top half of his body as if it’s a blanket. The kid looks kind of wrecked now that he’s stopped moving long enough for the lieutenant to get a good look at him, and the fact that his team’s resident insomniac suddenly needs a midday nap is more than a little concerning.

“You okay, kid?” Gil asks quietly, standing from his desk and moving over to sit in the chair on the opposite side of his office.

Malcolm doesn’t even open his eyes as he responds with an unconvincing “I’m fine.”

“Of course you’re fine,” he mutters, half to himself, before turning back to the profiler. “You know, Bright, some people might say that stumbling into your boss’s office and falling asleep on his couch in the middle of the afternoon is the opposite of fine.”

“Not sleeping,” Malcolm corrects, “just need to close my eyes for a little while. Half an hour, tops.” Malcolm’s speech is slurred; despite what the kid says, Gil knows he’s well on his way to sleep.

“Kid, if you’re sick you should just go home,” The lieutenant says as he reaches a gentle hand out to rest on the profiler’s forehead. He’s surprised to find it cool rather than fever-warm. At the contact, Malcolm opens his eyes and squints up to meet Gil’s eyes.

“I’m not sick, Gil. I’ve just got a headache and need to rest my eyes a bit so I can finish my incident report.” With that, Malcolm closes his eyes and pulls the jacket tighter around his slender frame, huddling deeper into the couch.

Gil sighs; if the headache is bad enough for Malcolm to be hiding out in his office, the profiler should definitely go home for the day. But the lieutenant closes the blinds on his office windows anyways, blocking out any residual light and prying eyes.

“Thanks for letting me stay, Gil,” Malcolm mumbles sleepily, sighing contentedly as his three thousand dollar suit jacket is replaced with the blanket Gil keeps in his desk for situations such as these.

“Take all the time you need, kid.”


End file.
